The Right Diet to Follow After Surgery? Part 1: Why Traditional Diet Advice Might Not Work

After you’ve taken the plunge, talked to a doctor, and had liposuction performed, you want those results to stick around. If you’re like many people who struggled with problematic fat deposits, you’ve probably already tried dieting and exercise–and you may turn to them again. You may also wonder what diet advice to follow after your procedure.

While the overall health benefits of moderate exercise are well-documented, the science of dieting to address fat growth is more complicated. It isn’t as simple as “calories in, calories out.” Instead, each body has a unique pattern of generating fat, distributing it throughout the body, and storing the fat. This is all governed by a complex dance of hormones and enzymes, directed by the body’s genetic makeup.

In other words, your genes affect the fit of your jeans.

Diet contributes to an overall healthy life, just as exercise does. However, when it comes to fat generation, scientists debate what the “real” dietary villains are. In the past several decades, theories have ranged–from “eating fat makes you fat” to “carbohydrates are the real culprit.” Hearing this contradictory advice, many people have bounced from one diet to another, often in vain.

According to a letter signed by over 250 medical experts and published in the New York Times, insulin–a hormone secreted by the pancreas–plays a key role in the body’s fat storage and burning processes. The body secretes insulin in order to break down the foods we consume. How much insulin it secretes, depends on what kinds of food we eat. For instance, if we consume more carbohydrates, the body releases more insulin to deal with them.

Therefore, dietary choices may affect how the body stores fat, by regulating the flow of insulin into the bloodstream. As just one example, this may be the mechanism behind so-called “low-carb” diets–why controlling carbohydrates helps some people manage their weight, when if controlling calories did not.

Our experienced Cleveland liposuction surgeon, Dr. Matt Goldschmidt, at The Cosmetic Surgery Center can help you explore your liposuction options. Call us now at (216) 264-8100 to set up a free consultation.